Candy Smile
by Ailani Celestina
Summary: Yachiru is growing and has caught Hitsugaya's eye. Now that Yachiru has been brought to the Tenth Division under Matsumoto's wing, both the youngest Lieutenant and Captain will understand 'teenagerdom'. HitsuChiru, re-post from my HeadstrongNozomi acct
1. Chapter One

After reading and editing this story, I'm re-posting it! It's HeadstrongNozomi for those who don't know, but this is my Bleach account! :) So, here's Candy Smile once again!

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**[Candy] [Smile]**

_Chapter One

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"Kenny, my tummy hurts!" Kusajishi Yachiru complained, rubbing her flat stomach while sitting in her Captain's office. Kenpachi simply looked up at his lieutenant with a frown before turning back to the untouched work on his desk. He had no idea what to do; whenever Yachiru had a stomach ache, she usually just slept it off. Then again, it was only ten in the morning, and Yachiru didn't receive candy from anyone so far.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Kenpachi grumbled. Yachiru looked at the large man and frowned before crossing her arms. Why wasn't Kenny helping her? He always helped her! What was so special about _today_ that he wouldn't help her? The small, pink-haired girl huffed and turned away from Kenpachi.

"I want you to make my tummy stop hurting, Kenny!" she demanded. Kenpachi growled and looked at the young girl. Where were Ikkaku and Yumichika when he needed them? The feminine Yumichika would know what to do with the child… or at least he hoped that the Ayasegawa would know what to do. "Kenny!" she whined.

"Enough, Yachiru. I don't know what I can do. Go find Yumichika or Ikkaku and have them deal with it." Kenpachi growled out. Yachiru frowned before hopping off of her chair and opening the door of Kenpachi's office. "You going to find them?" the rough Captain asked the young lieutenant. Yachiru shook her head.

"I'm gonna find Booby-chan, Braid-chan or Glasses-chan." she said before bounding out of Kenpachi's office. Kenpachi only grunted in response, completely aware that the girl didn't hear him.

"Booby-chan…! I found you!" Yachiru cried, bounding over to Matsumoto, who happened to be doing paperwork for once. Matsumoto looked up, much to her Captain's chagrin, and dropped her brush and walked over to Yachiru. Hitsugaya huffed and continued to work on his paperwork, deciding to ignore the two female Shinigami. "Booby-chan, my tummy hurts, and Kenny won't do anything about it! Plus, I haven't had any candy yet!"

Matsumoto blinked, not really listening to the young girl's tummy troubles. She was more interested in the fact that Yachiru no longer came up to her waist, but to the middle of her ribs. Yachiru had grown a good two or three inches. Soon, she would reach the Tenth Division Captain's short height of 4'4".

"Yachiru-chan, have you grown?" she asked, cutting off the young girl. Yachiru blinked and looked up at Matsumoto before tilting her head to the side. She shrugged, forgetting completely about her stomach ache. It seemed as though Matsumoto was not only good at getting distracted, she was also good at distracting people.

"I dunno. Did I?" she asked. Matsumoto turned to Hitsugaya.

"Taicho, can you do me a favor?" she asked. Hitsugaya twitched and looked up at the chesty, strawberry-blond lieutenant. "Oh, you won't get hurt! I just wanna see if Yachiru-chan grew a bit." the blond replied. Hitsugaya sighed in aggravation before standing up and crossing his arms.

"If I do this, you had better get back to work, Matsumoto." he stated. Matsumoto nodded in agreement, crouching down seconds later when her Captain stood nest to the pink-haired lieutenant. She nodded to herself, seeing the shorter height difference between the two. There was only about a four-inch height difference between Hitsugaya and Yachiru now, whereas before, there was a nine-inch height difference before.

"Let's see… Yachiru-chan, you grew five inches!" Matsumoto squealed. "You're exactly four feet tall now! Oh… your Shihakusho won't fit you much longer… Taicho, can I please go get a new Shihakusho for Yachiru?" she whined, looking at the white-haired Captain. Hitsugaya glared at his lieutenant. "I'll get back to work when I come back!" Hitsugaya sighed.

"Fine; you have one hour. If you're gone for longer than an hour, I'll have no choice but to increase your paperwork." he said, Matsumoto squealed and jumped up slightly, scooping the now four-foot-tall girl into her arms.

"Arigatou, Taicho!" she called as she rushed out of the building and in the direction of a few shops in the Seireitei. Anything to get out of doing work was good for one Matsumoto Rangiku.

"Itai…! Booby-chan, this lady is hurting me!" Yachiru complained as her chest was measured. Matsumoto was thankful that Kenpachi made Yachiru wear a thin undershirt under her Shihakusho. Even though Yachiru was still young, it wasn't proper to be naked from the chest up in a store. Yachiru's outburst made Matsumoto sigh.

"Yachiru-chan, the nice lady has to measure your chest. You're growing, so he has to make sure there's enough room in your new uniform for your chest. Look, your chest is even getting a bit bigger." she pointed out, causing Yachiru to look down at her chest. Her undershirt _was _getting a little tight around her chest… Realization sunk in on Yachiru quickly.

"Ohh… wow… I have boobs!" she cried out happily, causing Matsumoto to laugh a bit. "Wait, does this mean Kenny can't give me baths anymore? Or help me get dressed?" Matsumoto laughed again and ruffled Yachiru's short, pink locks, causing the young girl to pout at the busty woman's actions.

"He still can help you, but once you develop a bit more, he won't be able to help you. You'll have to bathe and dress yourself when your chest develops a bit more. If Zaraki-taicho is still helping you after that… well, he'll be in big trouble with Soutaicho-sama…" she said. Yachiru's red-brown eyes widened in shock at the thought of her Kenny being in big trouble with the Captain-Commander.

"Kenny'll be in trouble?" she cried. Matsumoto nodded a bit and crouched down to Yachiru's level.

"Don't worry, Yachiru-chan; once you develop a bit more, I'll help you a bit until you can do it yourself, okay?" she asked. Yachiru nodded. "Good, now can you please let the nice lady finish your measurements? If we want your new Shihakusho to be finished before Hitsugaya-taicho expects me back, you have to let the nice lady finish, okay?" Yachiru nodded again.

"Well, the good news is that Kusajishi-fukutaicho will fit into a small Shihakusho with a bit of hemming on the legs and arms. We can get that done in about fifteen minutes. While you wait, you could pick out a new sash if you'd like, Kusajishi-fukutaicho." the woman that had been taking Yachiru's measurements said. Yachiru nodded and jumped off the stool and rushed over to the sashes, forgetting about the top half of her Shihakusho as she looked at the many different colored sashes.

"Booby-chan, can I get the pink sash? Or maybe I should get the green one… Oh, I like them both!" Yachiru pouted. "Booby-chan, which one do you like best?" she asked, turning to Matsumoto with a pink sash in one hand and a green one in the other. Matsumoto smiled.

"I'll buy them both for you, if you want. After all, it's always nice to have a different range of colors! I have so many scarves, all in different colors!" she said happily, gesturing to the pink scarf she had wrapped around her shoulders. Yachiru smiled happily and bounded over to Matsumoto with both of the sashes in her hands.

"You'll really get them both for me? Arigatou, Booby-chan!" she exclaimed happily. Matsumoto smiled at the young girl as the new Shihakusho was brought out by the woman.

"Kusajishi-fukutaicho, if you would please change into these, I can accurately figure out where I'll need to hem your new uniform." she said. Matsumoto took the uniform from the woman and helped Yachiru out of her hakama and into her new uniform. As soon as Matsumoto tied the white sash around Yachiru's waist, the pink haired girl was standing on the stool. The woman looked over Yachiru, looking to see where the uniform would need to be hemmed. "Oh… this fits you quite nicely, Kusajishi-fukutaicho… You don't need this hemmed at all!"

"Yay! Now we can get back to Kenny!" Yachiru cried happily. The woman smiled and held up Yachiru's old uniform after scooping it up off the ground.

"Should I dispose of this, Matsumoto-fukutaicho? Kusajishi-fukutaicho won't fit into it anymore…" she asked. Yachiru gasped and lunged at her old uniform, swiftly taking it out of the woman's hands.

"Iie! I wanna show Kenny that I grew so much that I don't need this uniform anymore! 'Sides, Kenny'll probably wanna get rid of it himself." she said before turning to Matsumoto. "Booby-chan, will you tie the green sash around my waist instead of this white one?" she asked. Matsumoto laughed again before untying the white sash around Yachiru's waist and replacing it with the green one.

"Is that better, Yachiru-chan?" she asked. Yachiru nodded and hopped off the stool. Matsumoto turned to the store owner. "Could I get a few more uniforms for her? She is the 11th Division's fukutaicho after all, and she loves to explore… Six uniforms ought to do the trick." she said. The woman nodded and went to the back to get the six uniforms that Matsumoto requested.

"Booby-chan, how much time do we have left before Whitey-chan wanted you back?" Yachiru asked, continuing to hold her old Shihakusho, along with the other sashes.

"We have about half an hour. Let me guess, you want to stop by the candy shop?" Matsumoto asked, taking the uniforms from the woman who had just returned from the back room. Yachiru shook her head, causing Matsumoto to widen her eyes in surprise. "You… don't want candy, Yachiru-chan?" she asked in shock. Yachiru shook her head again as Matsumoto paid for the uniforms and sashes.

"Iie… My tummy still hurts, so I don't want to make it hurt more by getting candy. I want… fruit!" Yachiru exclaimed. Matsumoto choked on her own spit, hearing the word 'fruit' come from Yachiru's mouth. "Is something wrong, Booby-chan?" Yachiru asked. Matsumoto shook her head and coughed a bit.

"I-iie, Yachiru-chan. what kind of fruit do you want?" she asked. Oh boy; Kenpachi would be shocked at Yachiru's change in snack. Yachiru thought about it as she placed her old uniform, along with the sashes, in the bag of her new uniforms Matsumoto held. Yachiru suddenly smiled.

"I want an apple! And grapes and bananas!" she exclaimed. Matsumoto smiled and nodded. Yachiru giggled and climbed onto Matsumoto's back, much like she did with Kenpachi. "Come on, Booby-chan!" she exclaimed. Matsumoto nodded and thanked the store owner before heading towards the market to get Yachiru the fruit she wanted. In all honestly, she couldn't wait to see the look on Kenpachi's face when he saw his little, candy-loving lieutenant eating _fruit_.

"Mmm! This is _really_ good, Booby-chan! Why doesn't Kenny ever give me this kind of food?" Yachiru asked. She and Matsumoto had stopped in at the Tenth Division's office to let Hitsugaya know that Matsumoto was taking Yachiru back to the Eleventh Division, not quite trusting Yachiru's sense of direction. For once, Hitsugaya understood Matsumoto's reasoning completely.

"Well, that's something you'll have to ask Zaraki-taicho, Yachiru-chan." Matsumoto replied. Yachiru nodded, taking a second bite into her apple. Matsumoto stopped in front of Kenpachi's office and knocked three times, kneeling on the floor outside the office, waiting for a reply from the brute.

"What is it?" came the gruff reply. Yachiru giggled.

"Tenth Division fukutaicho, Matsumoto Rangiku requesting permission to enter, Zaraki-taicho." Matsumoto said.

"Yeah, whatever. Come in." Kenpachi said. Matsumoto stood up and opened the door to Kenpachi's office with Yachiru still on her back, eating her apple. Kenpachi was facing the wall and not the door. "What do you want, Matsumoto?" he asked. Matsumoto coughed slightly.

"I was just going to return Kusajishi-fukutaicho to you, Zaraki-taicho. Um, you might want to turn around…" she said. Kenpachi let out a loud bark of laughter.

"I've seen Yachiru covered in candy before, Matsumoto." he said. Yachiru giggled again.

"But, Kenny, I'm not eating candy!" she exclaimed. The previously unnoticed third and fifth seats choked on their drinks. The tea Yumichika had been so delicately drinking was now all the way across the room, dripping down the wall, and the same went with Ikkaku's sakè. "What's wrong Baldy, Feather-head?" Yachiru asked. Kenpachi slowly turned around in his chair, looking at Yachiru in what seemed like shock.

"Yachiru… what are you eating then…?" he asked, somewhat hesitantly. Matsumoto was trying not to laugh at Kenpachi's expression.

"An apple!" Yachiru replied happily. Those two words caused Yumichika to faint, falling onto the wooden floor of the office, Ikkaku to stare at Matsumoto in shock, and Kenpachi to drop his sakè dish onto his desk. Yachiru only giggled at her fellow Eleventh Divisioners.

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**I feel like this sucks... :/ Oh well. Reviews are loved.**


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two? Yes it is. No edits this chapter.

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**[Candy] [Smile]**

_Chapter Two

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After Matsumoto had left the Eleventh Division to return to her own Division, Yachiru had decided to show Kenpachi the things Matsumoto bought her. Kenpachi still hadn't gotten over the fact that Yachiru was eating fruit instead of candy, but he was going to reap it for all it was worth, no pun intended. If it was possible, he was going to attempt to get Yachiru to eat vegetables as well, no matter for how short or long a time she would eat them.

"Kenny, I grew five inches!" Yachiru exclaimed happily. Yumichika (who had recently been kicked awake by Ikkaku) smiled at the pink-haired girl's enthusiasm before he was struck with an idea.

"Fukutaicho, why don't we create a growing chart? Every week, you'll stand with your back against the door frame, and we'll mark off how many inches you've grown. We'll be able to keep track of how much you've grown." the fifth seat suggested. Yachiru gasped happily and nodded at the idea, taking another bite of her apple.

"Good idea, Feather-head!" she exclaimed. Yumichika frowned; he had seriously thought Yachiru had matured a bit while out with Matsumoto. Well! He would just have to ask Yamamoto for a special request on having Matsumoto help with Yachiru's maturity. He knew it wasn't a good idea to ask a woman who frequently drank saké to help mature a young girl, but come _on_! Yachiru began eating _fruit_ under the woman's supervision!

Things couldn't be _all_ bad with Matsumoto, right?

Somehow, that thought didn't assure Yumichika in any way, shape or form.

Hitsugaya was surprised to see a Hell Butterfly fluttering around in his office the next day. He was even more surprised to see a sober Matsumoto at her desk, doing paperwork. A perfectly shaped white eyebrow was raised in Matsumoto's general direction; either something was wrong with the busty lieutenant, or Hitsugaya was later than he thought.

"Ohayo, Hitsugaya-taicho!" Matsumoto cheered as she looked up, looking at her Captain. Hitsugaya nodded once, hesitantly, before pointing at the Hell Butterfly. His eyes clearly asked how long the black and pink messenger insect had been there. "Oh, that… I tried to get the message from it, but it wouldn't give it to me. It's been here for about half a hour." she stated. Hitsugaya only nodded before holding out his finger for the Hell Butterfly to deliver its message.

"_Hitsugaya Toshiro-taicho, it is requested that you and your lieutenant, Matsumoto Rangiku-fukutaicho, make yourselves present in the Meeting hall within the hour. This is by the request of the Eleventh Division's fifth seat, Ayasegawa Yumichika and Yamamoto-Genryūsai Shigekuni-soutaicho."_ Hitsugaya twitched as the message was relayed. What could that pretty boy possibly want with him and Matsumoto? Wait… if the Hell Butterfly had come half an hour earlier, then that meant that he and Matsumoto only had a half hour to get to the Meeting hall.

"Matsumoto, get up. We have to go to the Meeting hall within the next half hour." He stated. Matsumoto nodded and stood up from her seat, skipping out of the office happily with Hitsugaya close behind her. He still couldn't help but wonder why he and Matsumoto were needed by Yumichika. It wasn't like he ever talked to the bobbed man unless it was absolutely necessary…

"Ah, Hitsugaya-taicho, Matsumoto-fukutaicho." Yamamoto greeted as the first two seats of the Tenth Division walked into the Meeting hall. Hitsugaya and Matsumoto bowed respectfully towards the Captain-Commander. Yumichika stood off to the side of Yamamoto, looking a bit uneasy. Hitsugaya subconsciously wondered why Yumichika was anxious, but stared up at Yamamoto.

"You requested for us to come, soutaicho-sama?" he asked. Yamamoto nodded and waved Yumichika forward. Yumichika bowed at the two Tenth Division superiors respectfully before standing upright once again.

"Ayasegawa Yumichika has something to request from you. I have already approved of the request, but seeing as it concerns your Division, I leave the final decision to you, Hitsugaya-taicho." Yamamoto said. Hitsugaya nodded; so that was the reason he was here. Yumichika's request must concern Matsumoto more than it concerned him.

"Gomen nasai for having you take time out of your schedule, Hitsugaya-taicho, Matsumoto-fukutaicho, but I have to know something." Yumichika began. Matsumoto smiled.

"It's no worry, really! What is it you wanted us to do, Yumichika?" she asked. Yumichika let out a breath.

"I… need you to please teach Kusajishi-fukutaicho to be more ladylike!" he said quickly, the respectful title for his Lieutenant was foreign on his tongue. Hitsugaya didn't know whether to laugh, or to choke on his spit at the request; he wanted _Matsumoto_ teach _Yachiru_ to be ladylike? That was practically impossible! Matsumoto wasn't ladylike in the least! She constantly let her breasts hang out of her Shihakusho!

"Why did you choose Matsumoto for this, Ayasegawa?" Hitsugaya asked, genuinely curious. Matsumoto was confused enough as it was. Yumichika fidgeted.

"Well, you see, Kusajishi-fukutaicho began eating fruits under Matsumoto-fukutaicho's supervision. She seems to look up to her, so if she could possibly help her with manners and respect, then I'm sure the Division would be much better off. Even though none of us, especially Zaraki-taicho, expected her to ever really grow up, she was much more respectful when Matsumoto-fukutaicho was around her." He said.

"You say that Kusajishi-fukutaicho is growing up?" Yamamoto questioned. Matsumoto nodded.

"Yesterday I brought her to one of the shops here in the Seireitei to get her fitted for a new uniform. She outgrew her old one. When we had her measured at the shop, she measured in at four feet exactly." She replied. Yamamoto nodded.

"That is interesting…" he mused. "Please, continue with your request." Yumichika nodded.

"So, you see, I figured that maybe… if she was around Matsumoto-fukutaicho, Kusajishi-fukutaicho would mature a bit, into a young lady instead of a child. Hitsugaya-taicho, Matsumoto-fukutaicho, will you accept my request?" he asked. Hitsugaya crossed his arms.

"What exactly will we have to do, and how long will she be staying?" he asked.

"Oh, of course! Matsumoto-fukutaicho will just have to look after Kusajishi-fukutaicho. If Matsumoto-fukutaicho could show Kusajishi-fukutaicho how to complete paperwork or listen to superiors and elders, that would be excellent. If she becomes too much of a problem, I can come and bring her back to my Division. And I was thinking around two weeks, maybe?" Yumichika replied.

"Will she be staying with me?" Matsumoto asked. Yumichika nodded.

"If it isn't a problem…" he said. Matsumoto smiled.

"It's completely fine with me!" she exclaimed. "It's taicho's decision though. After all, the Tenth Division is under his control." Hitsugaya sighed as Yumichika turned to him with hopeful eyes.

"I suppose. But, if she gets too out of hand, destroys my office, annoys my subordinates or ruins any of _my_ documents, I'll have no choice but to have her escorted back to the Eleventh Division by force." He said. Yumichika smiled in gratitude and bowed at the young Captain.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Hitsugaya-taicho! Arigatou gozaimasu, Matsumoto-fukutaicho!" he exclaimed. Matsumoto smiled and patted Yumichika on his shoulder.

"Should I go pick her up then?" she asked. Yumichika straightened his back and looked at Matsumoto.

"If you would like to. Or I could drop her off at your Division. I wouldn't send her to your Division by herself, even though our Divisions are right next to each other. Kusajishi-fukutaicho has a poor sense of direction." He said. Matsumoto laughed and wrapped an arm around Yumichika's shoulder and ruffled his hair. Yumichika frowned and attempted to fix his hair.

"I don't mind picking her up, but is this okay with Zaraki-taicho?" Matsumoto asked. Yumichika sighed.

"He's still in shock from seeing Kusajishi-fukutaicho with an apple." He said. "He's agreed to everything that anyone has asked. Ikkaku asked if it was okay to destroy Kurotsuchi-taicho, and Zaraki-taicho replied with a 'Uh-huh, yeah, sure'. I asked if it was okay to request this from you, and he said 'Uh-huh, yeah, that's fine, Yumichika'." Matsumoto laughed and released Yumichika.

"Well, at least we know how to shock Zaraki-taicho now!" she exclaimed before bowing to Yamamoto. "We'll be leaving now, soutaicho-sama." She said. Yamamoto nodded and dismissed the three Shinigami that were in the meeting hall.

"Yachiru-chan, you'll need to grab a few uniforms, and come with me! You and I are having a sleepover for a long time!" Matsumoto called as she walked into the Eleventh Division's office. Yachiru looked up from where she was eating a banana and smiled. She chewed and swallowed the piece of banana in her mouth before waving to Matsumoto.

"Hi, Booby-chan! What do you mean we're having a sleep over for a long time? How long?" she asked.

"You'll be staying with me for two weeks. We'll have a lot of fun, and we can visit Kenpachi-taicho whenever you begin to miss him!" Matsumoto replied. Yachiru cheered and ate the rest of her banana quickly before running towards Matsumoto and hugging her. Yumichika and Ikkaku watched in amusement as the little girl hugged Matsumoto.

"Yay! Booby-chan and I will have so much fun! But… what if Ken-chan gets lonely?" Yachiru asked. Matsumoto ruffled the girl's pink locks.

"Well, what do you suggest we do for him for if he gets lonely?" she asked. Yachiru put a finger on her lips in thought. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she thought of a great idea incase Kenpachi got lonely, which Matsumoto doubted he would.

"I know!" Yachiru exclaimed before running towards the small bedroom that was attached to Kenpachi's office. Yachiru frequently took naps in that room, so she had something that would do just the trick incase Kenpachi got lonely while Yachiru was away. She ran out of the room, holding something behind her back. She stopped in front of Matsumoto, pulling out whatever she was holding behind her back to show the older woman. "We can let Ken-chan borrow this! His name is Bun-bun!"

"Bun-bun, eh?" Matsumoto asked, looking at the stuffed pink bunny that Yachiru was holding. The stuffed animal was adorable, and definitely not Kenpachi's style. But, Matsumoto had a feeling that if the gift was from Yachiru, Kenpachi would accept it. He might not use it, but he'd take it so he wouldn't hurt the little girl's feelings. "It's a good idea, Yachiru-chan."

"Really?" Yachiru asked. Matsumoto nodded. "Yay! Ken-chan should be back soon! I'll give it to him then!" the pink-haired girl exclaimed. Matsumoto smiled and ruffled the girl's hair again.

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**Reviews are loved. Flames are used to warm me as winter approaches. :'D**


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